Southampton vs. Swansea: Winners and Losers from Premier League Game
Southampton dominated at home against Swansea City in the Premier League on Sunday but ended on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline after Jonjo Shelvey's late goal.
The Saints had plenty of chances and a couple of shots cleared off the line but couldn't find the finish they needed to take more points in the race for the top four.
Here are some winners and losers from the match at St Mary's.
Winner: Jonjo Shelvey
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Jonjo Shelvey was asked to play a more offensive role for Swansea in the absence of the suspended Gylfi Sigurdsson, and the former Liverpool man responded with the telling goal late on in the match.
He had served notice of his intent earlier with a low drive from range which struck the woodwork, but Southampton again failed to close down his driving run later on, allowing Shelvey to spank home the winner from distance.
He worked hard off the ball, tracked back into midfield whenever he could and directed play late on as Swansea saw out the match to take three important points.
Shelvey admitted he has been told to get a few more shots away, per Sky Sports, and it certainly paid dividends this time: "I thought, 'Why not just hit it?' I have been told to shoot a bit more. The keeper got a touch to put it in, but it was a good strike, and the main thing is we got the three points. I thought we started a bit shaky, but we grew in confidence in the second half and started getting it down and playing it around."
Loser: Graziano Pelle
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While Shelvey scored the winner, Graziano Pelle was hardworking but ultimately fruitless in his search for a strike at the other end.
In his defense, the Saints forward didn't have too much to work off for much of the game—just a series of low crosses which he couldn't attack, high balls which were won by the Swansea defence and a lack of running beyond him in the area.
When the late chances fell his way, though, he would have hoped to nick a point for his team, but a dreadful shot from eight yards out flew well over the bar.
Winner: Carroll, Williams and Fernandez
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Swansea had a lot of impressive performers in terms of their being organised and well-drilled. They made sure that gaps were filled, forcing Southampton around the outside.
The two centre-backs were terrific all game long in tilting one way then the other, with Federico Fernandez particularly strong at simply guiding Pelle and Co. out of the way, while Ashley Williams made two vital goal-line blocks late on.
In midfield, huge credit must go to the work rate and consistent shutdown play of Tom Carroll, who harassed and harried the Saints' ball-players, made challenges and tried to support breaking forward.
Per Sky Sports, Williams said: "For the full 90, I thought the team worked so hard to get that clean sheet. We have got a lot of injuries and stuff at the minute and a few new guys have come in, but I think you saw the commitment and the work rate. It was a great strike from Jonjo, and I think we deserved the points."
Loser: Ronald Koeman
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Southampton boss Ronaldo Koeman will be frustrated that his side dominated much of the game but ultimately got nothing to show for it.
The boss made a change to bring on Saido Mane, who played just behind the striker, in a positive move to seek a win—but beyond that, perhaps he didn't eke enough out of his squad to change the way they played in order to get behind Swansea.
Ultimately, he'll point to having all the possession, but it's Garry Monk who has the three points.
Winner: Saints' Rivals
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For the first time in a couple of weeks, one of the five sides chasing a top-four finish has failed to win.
With Manchester United, Tottenham and Liverpool winning on Saturday and Arsenal doing the same earlier on Sunday, the pressure was on the Saints to win their own match and move back into third. But their home loss means that just four points separate fourth from seventh now.
Next weekend could be huge: Southampton travel to QPR, while Liverpool play their derby at Everton and Spurs and Arsenal face off in the north London derby.
